First founded in 1936 by the Daimler-Benz Company for the purpose of producing military aircraft engines, Industriewerke Ludwigsfelde — or IWL — was a German manufacturing firm based just outside of Berlin. Because IWL was making engines for the Luftwaffe, its factory was targeted and bombed during WW2. After the war, the Soviets came and stripped most of the remaining equipment that wasn’t damaged in the bombings. Because the company wasn’t allowed to continue producing military aircraft components, in the early 1950s IWL started producing machine tools, then agricultural equipment, then Soviet airplane engines, before finally pivoting to scooter production.
Research and development kicked off in 1953, and the inaugural scooter was offered two years later with the IWL Pitty, a 125cc scooter modeled after the Goggomobil Glas. IWL pulled the plug on the Pitty in 1956 when the model was replaced with the Wiesel SR 56. IWL built more than 50,000 units before production ceased in 1959 when the company introduced the Berlin SR 59. In 1963, the Berlin was replaced by the TR 150 Troll 1, which would be IWL’s last scooter model.
The Troll featured the same MZ-made 145cc, two-stroke engine and four-speed gearbox as its predecessor, though now offered a slightly faster top speed of 56mph (up from 51mph). The model also featured new bodywork, plusher (and higher) seating, and improved suspension. The company also released a nifty little one-wheel trailer called the Campi that it developed in collaboration with Stoye. At the end of 1964 MZ — which supplied engines for all of IWL’s scooters — took over production and that was essentially the end of IWL’s scooter run.
This particular 1963 Troll example is said to be in “excellent and original condition” though the ad goes on to state the thing will definitely need some work. Everything appears to be there, including the factory bar-end signals, spare-tire, horn, and side covers. While IWL produced more than 180,000 scooters, only around one-third of them (56,000 give or take) were Trolls, and very few ended up on US shores.
You can find this unrestored 1963 IWL TR 150 Troll 1 for sale here on Craigslist in Puyallup, Washington with a price of $3,400.